二六、事悟癡除 性定動正

26. Ex-post repentance dispels infatuations and nature well preserved begets appropriate action.

飽後思味，則濃淡之境都消；色後思淫，則男女之見盡絕。故人常以事後之悔悟，破臨事之癡迷，則性定①而動無不正②。

【注 釋】

① 性定：保持純真的本性。

② 動無不正：做事無不符合道德規範。

【今文解譯】

酒足飯飽後若還想著美味佳肴，就再也無法體味出食物的滋味；男歡女愛後若還想著床第之事，就再也感覺不到肌膚之親的甜蜜。所以，人們隻要常常能用事後的悔悟來破除自己對當前之事的癡迷，就能不失本性，行為舉止也就不會違背天理人倫。

【English Translation】

If someone were to tell the flavor of more food right after having eaten his fill, his palate would let him down. If someone were to seek more pleasures of the flesh right after having been sated with his carnal appetites, the mysteries of love-making would become extinct. Therefore, if people can take a habit of repenting their folly in the past and relieving infatuations for the time being, they will undoubtedly have their true natures well preserved and their actions morally regulated.